Eat Your Feelings - Chicken Alfredo with Zucchini Ribbons

I used THIS recipe from Genius Kitchen as a guideline and threw in a few tweaks of my own. Buckle in!

Being #NSNG, I missed chicken Alfredo SO FREAKING MUCH.

But then I realized...why don’t I just swap out the fettuccini for zucchini ribbons which are flat instead of spaghetti-like (and they’re so much easier to make! You literally just peel the zucchini with a peeler until the core resembles a long rectangle shape. And you can cut that up and put it in something else or you can chuck it. I won’t judge!

Then just pat the ribbons really well to soak up extra moisture. In fact, I’ve found it best to leave them wrapped in a few paper towels until you’re ready to toss in the Alfredo.)

The Meat

-I cooked up about 6 strips of bacon until it was nice and crispy and then set it aside to crumble up in the “pasta” later.

-I then cooked up the chicken (I used tenders) in some of the remaining bacon fat, sprinkling both sides with salt and pepper.

-When those were nice and golden brown, I added a few splashes of chicken broth to the pan and covered with a lid for a few minutes in order to add an extra savory chicken-y layer of flavor goodness!

-Then I removed the chicken, cut up into smaller bites, and sautéed the onions and garlic.

The Sauce

I used this recipe from Genius Kitchen as a guideline but found the sauce to be a bit too thin and soupy so I thickened it up by making the base a roux with a little coconut flour. You can use almond flour too, but beware of almond MEAL. TOO GRAINY! Here’s a video that helped me a lot - Thank you, Gordon Ramsay!

For those who are anti-video (or anti-Gordon Ramsay) here’s the gist:

-I took about 2.5 tablespoons of coconut flour and mixed it with with about 2.5 tablespoons of cold water and mixed it into a paste. I then added about 2 tablespoons of butter and melted that over a low heat, while mixing in the doughy concoction.

-I then added cold whipping cream a third at a time and vigorously whisked it together.

-Once it started to thicken, I added s/p and a pinch of nutmeg.

-I stirred that in and then mixed in the Parmesan, continuing to whisk so it got all melty and gooey!

-That’s when I tossed in the now cooked onions, garlic, chicken and bacon and let simmer a bit.

-Then tossed in the raw zucchini ribbons so everything is nice and coated and serve immediately! (I sprinkled on some freshly cut parsley for color and that nice fresh flavor too!)

Fun fact! Did you know that authentic Alfredo sauce is just butter and Parmesan mixed with a bit of the starch water from the cooked pasta? These days, Alfredo is thought to be more like a Mornay sauce, which is a Bechamel but with cheese. Now go forth and impress all your snobby culinary friends!